By Lynda Kiernan
Jon-Paul Doran, the founder of UK medical cannabis company Eco Equity, has launched JPD Capital, a pure-play medical cannabis investment fund in London.
Domiciled in Guernsey, and with marketing offices in London, the fund has investors hailing from all over the world, including the UK, the Middle East, and Europe.
Under its mandate, JPD will focus its capital on investments in companies touching upon every stage in the medical cannabis “seed to sale” journey, from greenhouses to cultivation, agricultural suppliers, and distribution.
“I am delighted to be launching our medicinal cannabis fund in the UK. The success of our pharmaceutical arm Eco Equity over the past 18 months shows there is appetite for investment in the industry,” said Jon-Paul Doran, founder, JPD Capital.
“The cannabis market is the fastest-growing market of 2019, proving its unstoppable growth and obvious attraction for investors. We want our investors to feel confident and we want our investors to see returns, as well as achieving our main aim of finding alternative and natural treatments for life-threatening illnesses.”
Through Eco Equity, the fund has already made two investments in Zimbabwe and Antigua within the past year. Eco Equity acquired one of five licenses to cultivate cannabis for medicinal purposes in Zimbabwe, and has already established the foundations needed to begin cultivation in the second quarter of 2020.
Additionally, in November 2019 Eco Equity was granted a dispensary license for medicinal cannabis in the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, which covers manufacturing, supply, retail, import and export for medicinal purposes, and scientific use in both markets.
“The funds invested into Eco Equity in the last year have resulted in successful acquisitions of licenses in Zimbabwe and Antigua,” said Timothy Ambrose, COO, Eco Equity. “We are focused on the next stage of production and particularly in the Caribbean, we want to achieve our aim of becoming Antigua’s exclusive dispensary brand.”
Further plans include the creation of a luxury and dispensary chain in the Caribbean within the coming months, as JPD builds out and diversifies its portfolio.
Views toward cannabis have softened in recent years across Caribbean nations. In 2015 the shift began in Jamaica, which passed legislation decriminalizing possession of up to two ounces of cannabis; allowed for at-home cultivation of up to five plants; and established a regulatory agency to oversee medical usage.
This set off a chain reaction with the Cayman Islands following Jamaica’s lead in 2016, and Bermuda doing the same in 2017. In 2018, St. Vincent and the Grenadines took measures to allow for commercial cultivation, and the Prime Minister of Dominica voiced his support for decriminalization. Last year, Antigua and Barbuda also decriminalized possession of up to fifteen grams, cleared previous conviction records, and began creating the framework needed to oversee medical usage, according to Cannabiswire.
“…prohibition is preventing the region from taking advantage of the economic opportunities in the cannabis industry and medical research,” said a report issued in 2018 by CARICOM, a coalition of 20 Caribbean countries. And went on to add that prohibition also blocked access “to medicine that can heal more effectively and cheaply than traditional pharmaceuticals.”
“We welcome investment from anywhere and our progress so far is a clear indication of where investors should safely invest their money,” said Ambrose. “Over the coming year we will begin cultivation and by the end of the year we will be supplying the cannabis market with high grade, GMP certified CBD products.”
– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to the GAI News and Agtech Intel platforms. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.